“Jackie Brown” Title Sequence.

The title sequence to “Jackie Brown” differed from other typical openings because it simply showed a continuous medium shot of a woman (we assume to be Jackie Brown), with non diagetic music. Although this could be seen as a minimalistic title sequence we gain much insight in to the film due to the textual detail. The location is America because the singer in the music has a strong American accent. Also, the film title appears in a sixties style font denoting the film will be set in the sixties. Through the medium shot, the woman starts walking however ends up running to her destination suggesting there will be an inspiration theme which Jackie Brown has to work for. We can tell the character is intelligent because she speaks more then one language, greeting Spanish passengers in their native tongue. She is independent as she walks by herself. The music hints that she could be deceiving as it has an upbeat tempo however the lyrics are about living a hard life on the street informing us of her lifestyle.

What I like about this title sequence is that the music is a strong factor in conveying the inspirational genre, it also establishes the era. I feel mis-en-sene was used very effectively as we are informed she works at the airport through costume and setting. The constant medium shot made it was easy and simple to follow, it is clear to see her role at the airport and that she is the main character. Contrastingly, what I didn’t like about the continuous shot was that it was too long and nothing happened apart from her walking. The tracking shot doesn’t propose many enigma’s about the plotline. Similarities this title sequence shares with other films is the tracking shot shown in “I Am Legend” explaining there is no one else there apart from the character. Another similarity is no dialogue is used for most of the opening alike “Alien” so we have to listen to the backing track to gain information. This differed to a title sequence such as “Donny Brasco” which included many shots of cross cutting, close ups, group shots etc.